No. 123.] PLANT PEST CONTROL. 73 



REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF PLANT PEST 



CONTROL. 



The Division of Plant Pest Control has devoted the greater 

 part of its time during the past year to the inspection of nurs- 

 eries, European corn borer, white pine blister rust and apiary 

 inspection. The nursery inspection has been carried on chiefly 

 along the lines that have been followed during the past few 

 years, 180 certificates having been issued to nurserymen, and 

 250 licenses to agents. The European corn borer is proving a 

 more serious problem each year, and the white pine blister 

 rust is also consuming more time and much greater attention 

 from this Department. 



Nursery Inspection. 



Earl> in the spring a large number of interstate shipments 

 were inspected and the bulk of them were found to be in ex- 

 cellent condition. Probably the practice we have pursued 

 in past seasons, of refusing to accept inferior shipments, has 

 become so well known to out-of-state dealers, that only first- 

 class stock is in most cases consigned to this State. Several 

 inspections of the nurseries, especially the larger ones, have 

 been made for various insects and diseases even though these 

 pests have not in previous years been found in them, it being 

 our policy to keep a careful check on the nurseries rather than 

 to intensify the inspection after an infestation of some serious 

 pest becomes well established. 



The European pine shoot moth, a few years ago quite preva- 

 lent, has apparently been eradicated from our nursery stock. 

 The San Jose scale, which was one of the first pests and prob- 

 ably the most serious that we had to contend with fifteen years 

 ago, is very seldom found in any large amount, it being very 

 unusual for us now to find a block of stock infested. When 

 this insect is found we usually, with the permission of the 

 nurseryman, destroy the stock, as it is ordinarily present on 



